Former Rutgers football player Patrick Kivlehan now starring on the baseball diamond

Noah K. Murray -The Star LedgerJust a few months ago, Patrick Kivlehan was finishing up a four-year career on the Rutgers football team, where he played in 43 games and also participated on teams that won three bowl games. When the season ended, he got the wild idea to try and play baseball -- a sport he excelled at in high school at St. Joseph's of Montvale. After making the team, his impact has been tremendous. Last week he batted .692 in four games with two home runs to earn Big East Conference Player of the Week honors. He's batting clean-up for the Scarlet Knights, a team leader who a few months ago was playing football.

He dug back with that big swing of his — body coiled tight, hands clamped on the bat — and blasted the baseball 375 feet into a grassy parking lot dotted with cars, deep beyond the left-field fence. As the ball soared, he stomped around the bases, the crowd whooping and his teammates standing on the edge of the dugout, cheering wildly.

The home run earlier this season in a victory against Wagner was Patrick Kivlehan’s third for the Rutgers baseball team — and there would be many more. He blasted two homers three days later in a game against Georgetown, and another a week after that in a loss to St. John’s, easily making him the Big East’s most explosive newcomer.

Only four months ago, Kivlehan was wearing shoulder pads, staring through a facemask and hitting very different objects — mainly other football players.

Before walking onto the baseball team in January, Kivlehan wrapped up a four-year career as a defensive back. After the season, he ditched his cleats for spikes, and he now leads the Scarlet Knights in batting average (.386), homers (seven), slugging (.675), steals (17) and on-base percentage (.433). He is tied for the team-high in RBI, with 27.

The 6-2, 211-pound Kivlehan has been a revelation for Rutgers (21-15), heading into this weekend’s key Big East series at Connecticut.

“I knew deep down that I wanted to do this — and that I could do it,” Kivlehan said. “But I honestly didn’t expect to have this kind of an impact.”

A two-sport star at St. Joseph’s of Montvale, Kivlehan turned down chances to play college baseball to accept his only Division 1 football scholarship offer and play for Rutgers. He appeared in 43 games as a backup and playing mostly on special teams, making 40 tackles and one interception.

He followed his heart to football, but Kivlehan never quite got over his love for baseball. Through the years in Piscataway, he would wander over to the Rutgers baseball field and watch games. He’d study the players, analyze their moves, and think to himself: “I can play with those guys.”

Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIREPatrick Kivlehan was a football player for the Rutgers team before trying his hand at baseball.

CHANGING TEAMS

When Kivlehan reached out to Darren Fenster about trying out for the Rutgers baseball team, the assistant coach had his share of doubts. Kivlehan hadn’t seen live pitching in almost four years. He hadn’t taken hard-hit grounders. And he was attempting to play for a team that competed in one of the country’s top conferences.

“I mean, baseball is not like riding a bike,” said Fenster, who left Rutgers just before the season to become a minor-league hitting instructor for the Red Sox.

Kivlehan showed up for his first batting cage session with the team in September, a workout overseen by Fenster. Kivlehan had cleared his baseball pursuits with then-Rutgers football coach Greg Schiano, and Kivlehan had learned he was allowed two years of baseball eligibility, according to NCAA standards.

Fenster was immediately struck by Kivlehan’s physique — broad shoulders packed with muscle, his body toned from top to bottom. Then Kivlehan took some cuts, cracking baseballs. Fenster was impressed, but realistic. It was only a cage session. But Kivlehan kept showing up throughout October for more workouts on his off-days from football.

Then one afternoon, Fenster noticed Kivlehan hit most of his balls up the middle or to the pull side. Fenster interjected. He wanted Kivlehan to hit to the opposite field by letting the pitch get deeper, or closer to the plate, before hitting the ball.

“He was able to put that stuff together and do what a lot of people take months to learn how to do,” Fenster said. “It took him maybe five swings to really adapt.”

Fenster later reported to coach Fred Hill, saying it was hard to tell what sort of impact Kivlehan might have, but he could probably make the team.

“You looked at him as a wild card,” Fenster said. “We had no idea what we were going to get out of him.”

A KNOWN TALENT

Kivlehan had plenty of experience juggling football and baseball. At St. Joe’s, he set school records and emerged as team captain in both sports.

On the diamond, he played left field, third base and shortstop, but he made his greatest impact at the plate, setting school marks for career home runs (23) and homers in a season (13).

“He tore it up,” St. Joe’s baseball coach Frank Salvano said.

Division 1 college scouts — most notably from Seton Hall and Saint Peter’s College — called Salvano about Kivlehan. But he had already made his choice.

Kivlehan relished the spotlight on the football field. He was so athletic that St. Joe’s football coach Tony Karcich moved him to quarterback his junior season and implemented a variety of Wildcat packages to showcase his strength and quickness. He also had nine interceptions on the defensive end as a junior and blocked four punts as a senior, Karcich said. Kivlehan’s only weakness was his speed for a skill player — he ran about a 4.6 40-yard dash.

He had three Football Championship Subdivision scholarship offers, but when Rutgers came calling he didn’t hesitate.

“At that point in his life, he had to go with his gut, his heart — and it told him football,” Karcich said.

Kivlehan never cracked the starting lineup with the Rutgers football team. When he would return to St. Joe’s to cheer on his alma mater, his baseball coach would track him down.

“Pat, it’s not too late,” Salvano would tell him.

“I saw it in his eyes,” Salvano said. “He didn’t have the career he wanted in football, but he still had a chance to make his mark in baseball.”

TAKING HIS BEST SHOT

Kivlehan said he’s still rusty on the baseball field, but it’s hard to tell. He had an 11-game hitting streak earlier this season.

After a four-year hiatus.

“It’s the hardest sport in the world to play,” Salvano said. “Once you do not see live pitching for that long — and I’m not just talking about hitting a fastball. I’m talking curveballs, sliders, change-ups. It’s still the hardest thing to do in sports.”

Big-league scouts have already inquired about Kivlehan, whose addition has helped vault Rutgers into the Big East title hunt.

“You never want to go through life saying, ‘I should have did this, I should have did that,’ ” Salvano said. “I’m glad he gave it a shot. It’s working out for everyone.”